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BY THE REV. MATTHEW RICTTEY, D 1) ftalifax, i. oiv^ioviru}v tug tTcaYytXtug, "And we flosire that every one of you do shew tho flame diligence to the full a«8uranco of hope unto the end : that yo bo not Blothful, but followers of them who through fuith and patience inherit tho promiBcs." Among the dying utterances of a distinguished physician and philosopher,* enregistered by his biographer, there is one that strikes us as peculiarly memorable and monitory : " I have taken," he said, " I have taken what unfortunately the general- ity of Christians too much take, — I have taken the middle walk of Christianity : I have endeavored to live up to its duties and doctrines ; but I have lived below its privileges." Who can fail to recognize in those impresssive words, a description — too accurate, alas ! of the average living Christianity of even the brightest eras in the history of the Church ? There is reason to apprehend that they reflect with humiliating precision, the sen- timents and feelings with which by far the greater proportion of Christians enter the vale of death. From the auspicious dawn of the Divine life in the soul, we should augur better things. With the first impulses and aspirations of the love of Christ, the first tvorJcS of those in whose hearts it is shed abroad, are usually in happy accord. They feel that they can never do enough to testify the gratitude of their exulting hearts to Him who has delivered them from the coming wrath. Their spirit and con- versation are redolent of the celestial unction they have recently Dr. Gregory's Memoirs of Dr. Mason Good. recoivefl. Notlilii;^, in their estimation, is v'orlli livinjjj for, but to «;lorify (Jod and win lieavenly crowns. Would that the liijUfh and holy anticipations, created l»y such in«ij)ii'nt elVccls of the power of jrodliness, were always realized by the issue ! lUit, that the instances in which that is the case arc comparatively few, is a fact not less manifest than it is niournrul. Of those who become heirs of salvation, thronn;h faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the projjortion is lamentably small who avail themselves of the innnensc resources placed at their disposal by the gra- cious economy under which wc live, to perfe(;t holiness in the fear of (iod. Instead of rising to inhale the invigorating atmos- phere and enjoy the heavenly prospects, that animate disciples who travel on the high-way of holiness, most of those who put on the Lord Jesus, take the middle walk of Christianity, — per- haps a lower position. They linger out an almost joyless and unprofitable existence in the vestibule of the Christian temi)lc, though invited and urged by a thousand voices to enter Into the Holiest, where the true Shekinah — the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ — unveils its transforming lustres to the pure in heart. The Apostles had occasion to bewail many such cases among Hebrew, as well as Heathen converts to the faith of Christ. To that class obviously belonged the persons to whom St. Paul addressed the scorching expostulations with which the preceding chapter closes, and the animated exhortations and awful warn- ings contained In this. Counsels so salutary, my brethren, can never be unseasonable ; nor can the motives by which they are enforced ever lose their power. If it was the duty of the first Christians, it can be no less obligatory upon us, to leave the principles of the doctrine of Christ, and go on to perfection. If by neglecting a course so imperative, theij were in danger of falling away so utterly as to become judicially abandoned to the hopelessness of irreclaimable Impenitence and the desola- tion of an undone eternity ; ice, though placed in dillerent cir- cumstances, are by no means unconditionally exemi)ted from liability to woe equally overwhelming. Our safety depends upon our fidelity to the grace of God : our reception of the 5 tan ley die of to la- ir- )m ds tie J>Ivine Ijenoillction, on our brlniring forth tlu' fruits of riiilitcou*- n(>-<>', of wlilcli the spiritual culture bcstoweil upftn us oiiiLjlit of rijxlit to he productive: in a word, our eternal salvation dt'peuds ou oui" \^v\])rr /'()/lo!cers itf iIkiii who, fJiroiit/h J'dil/i (Uk/ jxific.iiire hih< I'll iJh' jiromiscs. The Sciiptures jireseut a wide ran;:e of topics relevant to oc(!asions like the iireseut. In giving: the preference to the; suh- ject announced in the text, as suffufslive of ii'tlectious especially api)roj)riute to tin; event which it is our object to improve, I have in following tiie prompting of my heat judgment, oheye(l at tlu; same time, tho spontaneous ini[)ulse of my heart. All ■who were accpiainted with the justly venerated Minister of Christ, whom (lod has been pleased, after a long and honorablo career, to call to his eternal reward, will, I am (julte sure, un- hesitatingly ac(piiesce in the pro[)rlety of tho selection, llis lilitj was a model of holy diligence in tho service of his Divine; Master; — his end was peace ; — and, that his sainted spirit is now adde) (•!' nMli-ciiu'tl litim;mily — the sjiirits (»t just nu'n in.atlf pcH'i'ct — that move in .1 lolilrr sjtli('n\ It is amoral (It'cp rc'imnsiMlitios n'»-^0('iati'proved charae.- tcr with the signet of eternitv; — tliat fact alone miijjht well stir our soids to their eentral depths, and braee us for the hattk; of life. If they eonciuered — feo may we. If they are inau<>nrated priests and kings of inmiortality, tlie same sacred and im])erial dijjjiiities await us, if we only imbibe tlieir spirit and emulate their example. And, if we neglect to do so, tell me, my brethren, what shall we be able to allcije before the iudixment seat of Christ; — what can we even now plead at the tribunal of our own conscience, in extenuation of the turj)ltui their embracing Christianity ; but took joiffulbj the spoiling of their goods, knowing in themselves that they had in heaven a better and an enduring substance. Nor has the excelling glory of the "Ministration of the Spirit " in this respect at all waned. It is as full-orbed at the present hour as it was when the Sun of Righteousness rose with healing in his wings. Was it a privilege, think you, peculiar to the first followers of the Redeemer to give utterance to their motives in the language of the beloved disciple — " Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God ! " — or, in the contemplation of death, to say with Paul, " We know that if our earthly house of NllinMliHnuuj||iEmNrMM*wj'*i»*a k.«i«>!;!8t: 1 IC of of llils tabornaclc be dissolved, -wc have a buildinn; of (lod, an house not made with liands, eternal in the heavens V "' lies! assured, my brethren, Ihat sueh low views — too })revaleul, it is to bo regri'tted, amonirst those who profess and eall themselves Christians, — result from makinu', not the uneorrupted Gospel of Christ, but a deteriorated type of Christianity, at once the rule of their duty and the guage of their privileges. But, free and abounding as is the grace of God, He does not, let it be well ob- served, waste sach precious immunities, as " the full assurance of hope," on the unfaithful, the negligent, and the formal. "He that hath this hoj)e In him purlfieth himself even as Christ is pure." His hope lives by the constant exercise of its hallowing power. Unless it satisfy that condition It must inevitably perish. Let moral relaxation impair its ardent, impulsive ener- gy, and there must come over it a blight — a moral mildew, that, unless quickening grace preclude the disastrous Issue, will soon despoil it of Its bloom, and lay it, efl'ete antl withered, on the ground. The divine models on which the text fixes our atten- tion, were characterised by the wakeful and stern resistance oll'ered to the paralyzing influence of S})lrltual sloth, and by the self-denying cultivation of all the activities of practical godliness appropriate to the spheres In which they were severally placed by the providence of God. Thus It was, that they walk- ed In the light as He is In the light, having fellowship with Him, and experiencing the joy of the Lord to be their strength : and thus it is, that. If we would make our calling and election sure, we must, like them, give all diligence to work out our own sal- vation, and to serve our generation according to the will of -God. No longer then, shall Ave have to complain that the con- .solatlons of God are small with us : our path, on the contrary, will answer to the beautiful description of that of the just — it will shine more and more unto the perfect day. To consummate the progressive lustre and loveliness of the Christian's course "a patient continuance in well-doing" is indispensable. Hence the Intense solicitude expressed by the Apostle in the text, that his believing countrymen should, by the ■unwavering decision of holy purpose, and the unwearied energy 2 "W^MMMMI 14 of holy action, liold tliclr first contidciu'C stcadliist to the cimI. And this salutary counsel, which the feelings that dictated it, prompted him rather affectionately to insinuate than authoritat- ively to enjoin. It behooves all who would share In the celestial inheritance equally to regard. The crown of life is reserved for those who are faithful unto death. St. Paul, whose history from the time of his conversion, was a translucent illustration of the precepts he inculcated, has bequeathed to the Church an illustri- ous example of persistent fidelity in the face of the most appal- ling opposition ever encountered by man ; from the contempla- tion of which many a pious heart, tremulous with apprehension lias learned to triumph over difticultles that before seemed in superable, — " Not as though I had already attained," declare^ this devoted disciple and intrepid champion of the Cross, — " Not as though I had already attained, cither were already perfect : but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which I also am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended : but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, I press towards the goal, for the prize of the hish calling of God in Christ Jesus." Who can wonder that a career prosecuted on such principles, and In such a spirit, should close so triumphantly ; — that, in planting his foot upon the verge of the sepnkthre — I would say — in ascending the altar of martyrdom as a willing sacrifice — the venerable Apostle should be heard to exclaim, — " I am now ready to be oflered up, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me in that day." Enei'gy and excellence of character of a nature so peculiar, clearly attest the Divine origin of the principles that constitute its source and support: they conduct us to the inner life of the believer ; — that hfe which, in its essence. Is hid with Christ in God, whilst its influence is manifesied in the fruits of righteous- ness and true holiness. Such a character, no maxims of ethical science, no labors of moral philosophy, no plastic power of education ; — no nor ii«^i »M ■MMMi 15 earnest iucuk'atloii of the hiws of tlie Decalogue itself, tlionj^h •written by the finger, and clothed "vvlth the majesty of the living God — ever did, or ever could form. It is a Divine creation. The Lord, the Spirit, by the 0})erati()n of Ilis mighty jjower, forms it out of the ruins of our apostacy, and breathes into it the breath of life. We liave seen the moral symmetry of its form ; but our esti- mate will be very imperfect, unless it comprehend an insjiec- tion of the principles of its interior life. The most eflicient oi' these, according to the analysis of the Apostle, are faith and ixttience. The primal element of s})iritual life is faith: not a theory, a «!pcculation, a cherished dogma ; but a vital, operative principle —a grace of the Holy Si)irit — the inseparable concomitant, and jrecious instrument, of all the other virtues that adorn the cha- ':acter of those who are born from above. This laith is one of '.hose " things of the Spirit of God," which the natural, that is to ■my the unconverted, unspiritual man, docs not understand ; nei- her can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned. He nay believe in the inspiration of the Scriptures, and be uncxcep- tlonably orthodox in his views of the system of theology deducible jVom them ; but, of the fact that with the HEAirr man hellcveth unto '•l(/hteousness, he can have no experimental perception, until He who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, shine in his heart, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ. A merely logical or historical faith — a purely intellectual acquiescence in the teachings of the sacred Oracles — never yet embraced and appropriated the promises of God ; never purified a human heart ; never triuirphcd over the world's lusts ; never poured the light of eternity on the mind's eye, imparting the substance of things hoped for, the evi- dence of things not seen. No : these are the achievements of a diviner principle — of that faith, namely, which is of the opera- tion of God, and which invariably works by love. By this prin- ciple the people of God have in every age been characterised. ^Vhatever diversities may have existed among them, in this they have ever agreed: th(y were i\\\ partakers ^e of active and of submis-sive obedience to the will of Heaven, Avero but the practical evolution of that sacred and nii;j;ht y principle. Here, then, our endeavors to imitate them must begin ; and the surest test of our success, at every subsecpient period, will be the sincerity and lovin^f confidence wherewith we arc enabled to aver, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me : and the life that I now live in the ilesh, I live by the faith of the Son of Cod, who loved me and gave himself for me." . • » . . Another characteristic of those whose cxamide ought to excite our emulation, to which the Apostle gives especial prominence, is tlieir patience — or, as the very significant word fiuxQo&iutu; properly means, lo/u/anunlti/^ or endurinr/ patience. Patience, simply, is exemplified whenever any trial is sustained In a spirit of meekness, however brief the period of trial may be : but longanimity is patience indefinitely protracted — patience, the exercise of which is renewed with every trial ; and whose jjower of endurance is neither broken down by the intensity, nor ex- hausted by the continuance, of the ordeals through which it is called to pass. The unspeakable Importance of this enduring and waiting pa- tience to the Christian must be palpable to aU. It Is, in fact, the perpetual recurrence of occasions, of one sort or another, for the exercise of this grace, that constitutes life, emphatically, a probation. So essential Is it, that without it no progress is made, no maturity attained, in the divine life. " Let patience liave its perfect work," exhorts St. James, " that ye may be per- fect and entire, wanting nothing:" words which obviously indi- cate, that every other element of spiritual life will be dwarfed or developed, paralyzed or perfected, just in proportion as Ave pos- sess our souls In patience, amid the disappointments, conflicts and vexations, that are permitted, in equal wisdom and love, by our Father in heaven, lor the trial of our lailh. 17 J»v the ri'('f|M('iU assocl.ilinn of (lio forms '' I'aith" an'('lf, are ahandoned to the blind inlhienoe of Jhfc, — may, l)y cxtin!L;uishinir the finest snsee])tihilities of the heart, foster a eoM, selfrelyinji apathy: bnt that intelligent, tranrpiil, and holy submission to the ^vill of (lod, denoted in iho sublime ethies of Christianity by the term " patience," and which, instead of annihilatinix, purifies and inviixorates the aiTeetions, can emanate onlv from unfeiijned faith. l*atience, on the other hand, reciprocates the advantaLjes it derives from faith, by in- creasing its might, and preparing it for higher rewards, that it may be found unto praise, and honor, and glory, at the revela- tion of Jesus Christ. As there is no attribute traceable in the character of de- parted believers more exemplary than their paliencc, so there is none, commonly, more attractively conspicuous. Yon see it in their meekness under provocation and injury: "Being re- viled they bless; being persecuted they sutler it; being de- famed they entreat :" — You see it in their deep, filial submission to the Father of spirits, not seldom under crushing afflictions and desolating bereavements: — You see it in the more than heroic firmness they have, in countless instances, displayed, when proscription, imprisonment, and death in its most terrific forms, were the test, of their fidelity : — You see it in the implicit repose on the faithfulness, wisdom, and goodness of their covenant God, when surrounded by mysteries of Ills providence, of which their reason could neither Interpret the meaning, appre- ciate the justice, nor anticipate the end : and you see It in their untiring discharge of the duties of life and godliness, through a long cycle of probation, overshadowed often towards its close, and Bometimes in its progress, with infirmities, temptations and pain. From the severer tests to which many who have preceded you in the kingdom and patience of Christ, have been subjected, you, my brethren, are likely to enjoy an exemption. Yet, is yo loo — and perhaps iifit less lliau lln'V — "have need ol" jiali- onee, that, after ye have doiui the will ol (Jod, ye may re*-eive the i)roniise." It would, indeed, he as unwise In you to desire, as it were vain to anticipate, ininumily iVom trials In this pro1)u- tionary seene of belnir. They enter essentially into that dlsel[i- linary system, by which it is the benignant design of your lieavcnly Father to train yon for a higher sphere of existence. Think it not strange, then, if He penult even y/rr// trials to assay ■ — so to speak — the metal of your principles, in order to test their real (piallty, and separate the alloy of baser Ingredients from the gold of true grace. It is ifood — not nu^'ely pleasing to (Jod, but profitable to yourselves, — that you both hope and (piletly wait for the salvation of (Jod. AVliile you look not at the things which are seen, but at the things Avhich are not seen, you possess the animating assurance of Ilim wlio cannot lie, that your light adllction, which Is but for a moment, worketh out for you a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. To give full ellect to this consideration, St. Paul, in the passage before us, withdraws the veil that hides that glory from mortal view: and we behold the faithful who have passed away from earth, in the actual fru- ition of its unimaginable blesssedness. He unequivocally asserts III. That those luJio ivere characterized hy hohj ilillijcnce and patient faith, on earth, noiv inherit the pronu.^es in heaccn. Let not the rude hand of destructive criticism presume to tear from our hearts a testimony so precious. From reverent scrutiny we have nothing to fear. One of the rl})est scholars of the age, especially in the departjiient of sacred philology and exegesis, thus elicits and vindicates the genuine meaning of the word St. Paul here employs: — ''ic/.r/^uioi^iovyTovr. The only true interpretation of this word is that of the ancient and most modern Commentators, who take it as an Aoriat, and explain, — ' who have come into the enjoyment of the promised blessing of salvation,' understanding the xXr,Q. as referring partly to the patri- archs, their pious progenitors, who lived by faith in the promises of salvation through the future Saviour ; and jjartly to those Hebrew Christians, who, imitating the faith and patience ot tlieir l!> ;rts ars nnrostors, had lounlit llic cfood i\>r\\\ oj' j'alth nml ondiirt'd t<» llic cud and ; Ix-iiij? at li'ii_«ilh dclivcrod from their toils, had cnlcrt'd into the Joy of llicir I.ord promised to all his lailhlul servants. Tlic [)lurid in tn ; xxii. 10 and 18; xxvi, I!; xxviii, l.'i) all, however, eenterinj^ in th(; promise of salvation through a Uech'emer.'" * Thus the />/>r/oj/.v reference in tjiese expressions to the joy and i'elicity of departed saints, is sustained by the soundest lulnci- j)le.s of interpretation. And tlnis understood, liow richly suji;- gestive are they of just and elevated views of the lieavenly state ! Our time will permit me to do little more than indi- cate tliose views; but I trust you Avill expand them by your own meditation. In the word, //<7/f'/vV, tlierc is a latent allusion — eminently apposite as addressed to Hebrew Christians — to Canaan, the standinijj type to the Church of God, of that sabbatic rest, the enjoyment of which awaits all the spiritual seed of the father of the iaithful, after the Aveary i)ilgrimage of lifi3. And oh ! how refreshinjx to look awav from the waste and howling wilderness through which we are now passing to the land of perennial verdure and pure delight; to solace ourselves amidst the har.i -sings of our circuitous sojourn, Avith tlic thrill- ing thought that, if faithful, Ave shall soon, very soon, come, not in the anticipations of hope, but in the realizations of actual possession, to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the hea- venly Jerusalem Avhich is the mother, and destined inheritance of us all ! O come, consunmiation most blessed ! Jerusalem ! my hapj)y home ! "When shall I come to tliee, When shall my sorrows have an end, Thy joys Avlien sliall I see ? Another thought emanating from this pregnant expression, and corroborated by the congenial significance, in this connex- ion, of the associated word promises, is, — that heaven is not the ^Di'. doom field's Greek Test., with Eiiijlish notes, in loo. taau •-<> ncqtilsilion ol" liiiin.'\n imili, l.iil llic niiiniliff'nt tlonMlivc of J>iviii(Mn('rcv ; lliat oiirl'm.il ns well nsjircscnt <.'ilvntif)ii, is iu»t of >v<>rl\s l)iit ol i^r.wo ;— tliat, ^vllI!l' (K-alli Im tlic udijis of >in, cttT- iial liic is lilt' fi'ift ot'(i()(l, lliroiigh Jt'sus Cliri-^l mir 1,'^'nl. And this evan;j:*'ll('al view of llu; niattci* is fnrthor illustrated nnd r'oiifiniu'd hy tlio fact, that, as the kin;_nh)m if hcavi-ii i^, in Vi\- jianl toman, not ati oi'i;.':inal ])o.>s('ssion, hut an inhciitanco ; f^o that inlu'ritancc (U'volvos to no liunian li('in«r hv virinc of nalnral vc'la(ion>^Iii]) or h'Lcal tratisniissjon ; but pnrcly l»y llic. jj:ratnifoMs pnmtisr of (lod, wlio is in Clirist nH'onlieablo and co!:;ent here : " For if tlie inherit- ance he of the law it is no more of promise: hnt (wxl romise by faith of .Jesus Chi-ist nii;j,lit bo j^iven to them that believe." It is as "lieirs of promise," then, and not as h\i:;al ch'iimanls, tliat l)elievers are entitled to rejoicc! in liope of the jrlory of (jod ; and, therefln'o, just in ])roportion as the Holy Spirit enables tlu-m tlms to rejoice, arc their hearts in unison with the sublime ascription — IHessed bo the CJod and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to liis abundant mercy, hath begotten us again to a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away. The transcendent grandeur of the inheritance of the saints in light, it Is reserved for that day fully to disclose, when Chris^t shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe- Not till then — shall these bodies of our humilia- tion, restored from the dishonors of tlic grave, be assimilated to the glorious body, in which our Kedeemer now sits on His mediatoi'ial throne. Not till then — shall the evolutions and ac- complishments of the great redeeming plan reach the grand crisis of their consummation, and the acclaim of final triumph thunder through the temple of God. But, while this is freely o,dmittcd, far from our hearts be the thought that the blessed m ts m .Uall Ihom liiila- m1 to His U ae- -and [rapli reely 1io|i(' ofoldiy wliic'li aiiim.ilc tlic real CInislIau sliall Ijc ileljivil till that illii.strionn dav. AVu have just lu'i-ii .Hiii'Mii'' — The saints who die of Clinst possest, I'litcr into iiinnnliiih' rest ; For iht'iii no fiiither test rciniiin^, Of |'iir;;iiig lires, and lortnriii;^ |i:iins. Some, liowovor, who explode tlie Pairan and Papal doctrine of ])ur;;atory, inia^Mue that the soul, on its separation from the body, lapses into a eondition of torpor, in which it will r main, insensible to the weal or woo of its eternal destinv and uncon- 8eious even of its own e.\i>leuee, till the period of the resurri-e- tion. To whatever souree this notion may bo traced, it certainly ■was not derived from eilhei' the earnest of the Spirit in the believing heart, or the testimony of the S{)Irit in the written word. Intimately allied to that matirialistii' ])hilosophy, which, untortunatelv lor the Iheorv, is as unfavorable to the lintiutrlalltii of the soul, as to its selt-eonselousness in the intermediate state between deatli and the resurrection, it is only less revolt- in;lare of science, falsely so called, turn we to llim wlio has abolished death, and broui,dit life and hnmorlallty to lly^ht. Does he not demonstrate from the covenant relation which God sustains to the patriarchs that tlu^y are now living V "for lie la not the (Jod of the dead but of the living; for all live to him." (Lukexx: 38.) Does he not, in the instance of the rich man and Lazarus, — whether regarded as a real his- tory or a parable, — unveil the spirit world, and discover to us the souls of tlie dci)arti.d, imparadlsed or tormented, according to their character y Did he not declare to the malefactor on the cross — " To day shalt thou bo with nic in paradise V " AVhat heart instinct with the love of Christ could ever have glowed with a desire to depart; who could ever have trliunphed In the hour or in the expectation, of dissolution — if to be absent from the body were Jiot, to the Christian, to be present with the Lord — if to be unclothed of this material vehicle were not to be clothed ui)on with our house which Is from heaven, that mor- tality might be swallowed up of life V Blessed be Cod, who ■ rp^PWHMI ■"-•""""""-" """'""giiiniiitH-nii ')•; given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace— we have i)roofs as assuring and abundant as faith can desire, that they -who have died in the Lord, instead ot being in a state of somnolent insensibility, are now with Christ, all ani- mate with the joy ineffable and eternal, imi)lied in their inherit- ing the promises. I must repress my inclination to expatiate on tlie various elements that constitute their blessedness. More impressive than any systematic exposition of this lofty theme, are those apocalyptic descriptions by the prophet of Patmos, in which we see heaven opened, and unnumbered multitudes of all nations, and kindreds, and people and tongues, standing belbre the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands : and crying with a loud voice, saying. Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. * * * * They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters ; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Contrasted with the substantial lustre and beatitude of such a destinv, earth's richest pleasures and most envied honors — the glitter of aflhience, and the gayeties of dissipation, appear — what they really are — dust and shadows. With those who are inheriting the promises we have the best reasons for believing; that the beloved and honoured servant of Christ, over whose mortal frame, worn by the labors of almost half a century, and wasted with sickness and suflering, the Cjrave has recently closed, is now numbered. It is not my intention to attempt a minute appreciation, much less, a labored eulogy of his character. Let me glorify Ged in him, while I pay a short, yet affectionate, tribute to his memory. It is a duty, permit me to say, which I perform with melancholy satisfaction ; and by the assignment of which to me, under the circumstances, I feel myself especially honored.* '■ The writer rccoivod the intfllijronro of Mr. Cropcombo's death ■when on \\\\ ofticiai visit to Newt'omidlaiid : and this discourse was in cunsequcncc nut prciichLd till two monllia after hit> dcocabc. ■WD •j:; nut Tlie spiritual history of a '" man of God " properly dates I'rom the time when, by the mysterious but mighty agency of the Holy Spirit, he is renewed after the image of llim that created liim in righteousness and true holiness. This is that jxicat and decisive change which marks the transition of the penitent seeker of salvation from death to lite — his deliverance by the Father from the power of darkness, and translation into the kingdom of the Son of His love. In virtue of this blessed change his faculties acipilre a new development ; he enters into new relations to Him of whom the whole family In heaven and earth Is named. Sin having no longer dominion over him, he Is placed under the dynasty of holy principles, which, If he receive not the grace of (iod In vain, will reign through righteousness unto eternal life. What a momentous epoch ! Well may Its circumstances be Inellaceal)ly mipressed on the memory of the regenerate heart! Thus It was with our venerable Brother who has fallen asleep In Jesus. Referring — in a brief epitome of his religious experience, written a short time previous to his death — to the time and place of his spiritual birth, his words are : " Glory be to God ! I can testify this to be a genuine work of grace, after a trial of upwards of fifty years !" Mr. Croscombe's piety was of a peculiarly attractive type. It was pre-eminently fitted to extinguish in those who witnessed Ills joyous alacrity In the service of his Divine Master, the un- just suspicion, that religion Is unfriendly to present happiness. The benignant radiance of his countenance, which almost inva- riably reflected the interior sunshine of the soul ; and the elasti- city with which his spirit — naturally sensitive though It was — threw off the pressure of trials and afllictlons, and armed Itself for new enterprises of duty, attested the resources of a life hid with Christ in God. The joy of the Lord was his strength ; and in felicitous combination with a constitutional amiableness of disposition, it Imparted to his example a more than ordinary degree of the beauty of holiness. The doubts and ap[)rehen- sions that overshadowed his mental serenity at times during liis last illness, cannot be regarded as alTording a true index of his spiritual state, or as at all Inconsistent with what 1 have expres- wam mtmm Iliflllllllililiii 'nil" ■■.>-„., ^.....ii-.j^min^,.,^.,,..,,,,. •Jl scd, since tlicy o])vioiisly resulted from tlio (lejn-cssive inllueiu'e oi' physical paralysis and prostration on the intellectual and emo- tional powers, and were t()llowed l)y established peace, and, in the closing scene, a holy triumph over the last enemy. In close and concjenial alliance with the cheerful character of his picly ; and fonning, in fact, an eflicient and pervasiivc ele- ment in its composition ; there was observable in our departed friend, such an habitual recognition of the goodness of God, that he exemplilled as perfectly as any one whom I have known, the apostolic precept. In ererij thbir/ f/lve tfuuds. All who had an intimate accpiaintance Avlth his si)irlt and communications, must retain a vivid remembrance of the fervor and frequency with which he was wont to give utterance to such devout ejaculations as, " Praise the Lord !" " Blessed be Ills holy name !" The tender mercy of God, as displayed in the dispensations of His providence and grace, was indeed — more es})ecially in the later years of liis life, — the reigning theme of his converse. AVhIle, of the counsels of Jehovah at large, embodied In the lively ora- cles, he could say with truth, " How ^)rec'/(n<6' also are thy tIioiif/h(A unto me, God! lloiu great iat the swn of them ! the lumdred and third Psalm contains the liturgy, to every syllable of which his heart responded with especial emphasis. It were well if in this respect we were all like-minded. Praise is comely for the upright, being — as a spiritual Commentator ex- presses it — " the only return he can make for his creation, re- demption, and all other mercies; the offspring of gratitude, and the expression of love ; the elevation of the soul, and the ante- past of heaven ; Its own reward in this life, and an introduction to the felicities of the next." Is there not too much reason to apprehend, my brethren, that criminal deficiency in regard to a duty, recommended and enforced by so many considera- tions, and so consonant, withal, to the impulses of the regenerate heart In its happiest moments. Is among the most prevalent and unsuspected of those secret faults from which we must seek to be cleansed, if we would be made perfect in love V He who does not often summon his soul, and all that is within him, to the adoring contemplation and praise of God's wondrous love, as Ws^maamuaueemtw M he lie re is X- e- liid te- 011 to 1(1 ira- titc Ind to ^lio the as exemplified in th« dnspk arable gtj-t, and in the -manifold benefits f^onstantly flowing therefrom, will endeavour in vain , to rejoice ever more and pray without ceasing. In an attempt, however brief and incomplete, to appreciat* ' the excellences that commend the example of Mr. CroHcomU? Ic • our sedulous imitation, those who knew him best will aniicipatu, at least, a passinpr reference to his love for the brethren — an esti- mable quality by which he was conspicuously distinguished. Brotherly kindness, — that is to say, the family affection of thos# who are the (children of God by ♦aith in Christ Jesus, is «tharac- teristic of all w^ho hav(i passed from death unto life. It is an in- separable coiiLomitant of the love of Him, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named ; since jUial love to (tod involves /ra^erna^ love to all who exhibit evidence of havinj; received the adoption of sons. This is a principle, superior alike in the spirituality of its nature and the (jatholicity of itp expansion, to all ecclesiastical predilections and distinctions. As it has opportunity, it manifests a noble, impartial amity to- ward all saints. Piety, not polity, is the passport to its prompt and loving recognition. Such was one of the dominant ele- ments in the character of the Brother, who, being dead, yet speaketh, by the cherished memory of his benignant brotherly bearing, to all with whom he happened to come in contact who loved our Lord Jesus ('hrist in sincerity. I may not, in this connection, pass over in silence his (;special affectionate interest in young Ministers, for whom, as k lowiiip their responsibilities and dangers, he always evinced the det^pest nolicitude. Not a few, now in the palmy days of their sacred career, would, I am quite sure, gladly bear their cordial, con- sentaneous testimony, to the fidelity and love with which ht* counselled and encouraged them, at a period when the maxitui* of experience were, to them, more precious than rubies, anond of unity — its class- meetinjrs, and Love-feasts — its cJear annunciation »ud convinc- in«; defence of the faith once delivered to the saints — its ojlcr ot' a free, lull, present, and conscious salvatitju, to every soul of man; — tlu^, jirodlike CfithoHcity of its genius, and th» noble aspirations and achievements of its Mi^^sionary spirit, — were so manv ligaments that hound his heart to its altars, and made him estini'ite, next to tlie priviK'ge of hU sjuritual w- iatioti ro (iod, that of his church iclation to VVcskyan Method- isui. — And, to the blessed cause, for which he counted not his life, dear to himself, he had the happiness and honor of i-eiider- ing important service in various j>ortions of the globe-. In ICnuland, his native country; on tlie Hock ftf (librallar; in Newloundland : utidcr the subduing sunuiicr t-nu, ami amirl the winter rigors of the cliinc of Eastern (.^anada. as well as in the Provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia ; he made full |)ro()i' of his Ministry: reaping in every place tlu^' riche.-;l re- wards of hallowed toil, in souls saved Irom ih-aih, and churches cdliietl on their cKist holy faith, by the Divimi blessing on his oa:^toral fidelity. • By the assiduous cultivation of liis talents, vvhii-h were of a respectable order, he overcame to a great extent the disad- \aiilages f)f an inade(piate iniellectiial prepaiation for the •>acr<'d oliic(! ; and ;-nstained, with usefulness and h(Mior, a status In the Ministry, in advance of many of suptM-ior literary attain- ineuts. lliclilv cxoeriniental, and faithfully practical, as a yreaclicr, — he was worthy of dotd)le honor, as, at th«; same time, /./• a vigilant and aitectionate pastor; while the purity and eleva- tion of the motive that fed the undying fire of his zeal, were patent to all,— -commending luro to every man's conscience in !ie S);rH r, of •JO ^n "'*■■*"***■— I "" "" "■'**Wi~[[ iiiii If' But, on a review, from the bed oi death, of his abundant la- bors, and their |rraeious results, did he glory in them, think you, us though the excellency of the power by which they had been achieved were of himself? The very opposite. Profpundly humbled under a sense of his unworthiness ;— feeling that what- ever good he had been instrumental in accomplishmg, was attributable, not to him, but to the grace of God that was with him ;— and full of unfeigned contrition because he had not been more faithful and efficient in the work of the Lord, he died, (flinging to the Cross, and glorying only in its redeeming efficacy. I have done. Accept, beloved friends, as an appropriate application of the solemn subject to which you have given such patient attention, the apostolic monition which, in conclusion, 1 simply repeat : •' Remember them who had the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the M'ord of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation : Jesua Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever." '■"iinpiiiiiiwwfinm I ii»iK